Twitter!

This week I followed a Twitter chat with the hashtag #flipclass. This chat was all about how teachers are using the idea of a flipped classroom in their schools. The main focus of the chat this week was how to keep classroom management under control when doing a flipped class, and also how teachers are implementing this in the classroom. One of the biggest take aways for me during this chat was that teachers were commenting about how much more class time they can use for discussions and they are really able to dive deep into the content. Most of the questions were based around resources teachers use. I believe this questions were brought up a lot because when teachers are implementing a flipped class, there needs to be clear organization and it can be intimidating to start. Having successful teachers share their resources is a great way to encourage other teachers to try a flipped classroom.

I really enjoyed this Twitter chat and I will be watching them, and eventually participating in them, in the future. I think they are a great way to get connected with other educators. When I was deciding which one to watch this week, I had a hard time picking because a lot of them sounded interesting. As a future educator, I will be watching these chats more frequently because it can help me connect with other educators and also provide me with great resources.

Here are the 10 people I decided to follow:

Dr. Justin Tarte @justintarte I decided to follow him because when I read his bio, I noticed that he was a positive family man. When scrolling through his timeline, I saw a lot of positive quotes and questions in his tweets.

Sir Ken Robinson @SirKenRobinson Although he does not have much information on his bio, I did notice that he had a picture of a book he wrote called, "Creative Schools". When I saw this, I wanted to learn more about him and what he stands for.

Rick Wormeli @rickwormeli2 I chose to follow him because I was seeing some retweets from other education people from his account. On his account, I noticed he adds a lot of graphics to his tweets which makes for a fun, educational, read.

Heartland AEA @HeartlandAEA I chose to follow Heartland because I did a technology practicum with one of the tech consultants there and learned so much. Their Twitter is ran by a lot of technology people so there are a lot of good resources and tips.

Amy Mascott @teachmama  The first thing I noticed about her was that she has a lot of followers and she follows a lot of people. This made me want to follow her because I can tell she is actively collecting ideas from other people as well. She followed me back! 

Be Kind People Project @BeKindPpl This one is a different kind of educational Twitter. This is all about how to promote kindness and community in and out of the classroom. My aunt runs this Twitter and I love all the inspirational Tweets she puts. This is a good one for all educators!

WeAreTeachers @WeAreTeachers I followed this one because I have heard a lot about it. This is a very popular educational Twitter that has a lot of contributors. I have gotten a lot of tips and resources from this account.

Bevin Reinen @TeachTrainLove I found this teacher through her blog. She posts a lot of fun videos with some great ideas.

Kathy Schrock @kathyschrock I chose to follow her because she is an educational technologist. She tweets about great technology resources.

Mark Brumly @markbrumley I chose to follow him because in his bio he states he is committed to 21st century learners and teachers. This really caught my attention and I wanted to see what useful stuff he has to post.

One tip I would give to teachers entering the Twitter world is to follow people who you agree with, but also follow a few people who may have different views than you. I believe this can be very beneficial to be exposed to other viewpoints. Along this line, another tip I would have is to follow people who have tips and resources to offer. Twitter is a great place to connect to other educators and share ideas. One last tip I would say is to have your own voice in your tweets. Don't be afraid to share your own personal ideas. Everyone has something to offer!

Overall, this week I learned a lot about Twitter. Before this, I was aware of what Twitter chats are, but I was not using them. Now that I have watched one, I understand these chats are places for teachers to communicate and connect. These chats are a great way to share resources and just connect to each other. I also learn about new people to follow this week. I evaluated my own Twitter and followed more educational people. My plan is to be more involved in Twitter chats and keep expanding my pool of educators to follow.